Yesterday's August 9 hot and cold spots ...

Hot spot in Saskatchewan: 33.5 °C  92.3 °F Maple Creek; Val Marie

Cold spot in Saskatchewan: 8.1 °C  46.6 °F Val Marie

Hot spot in Canada: 40.6 °C  105.1 °F Lytton Climate, BC

Cold spot in Canada: -1.3 °C  29.7 °F Cape Parry Airport, NT

Extreme Weather in Canada

Weather forms the Canadian psyche as much as hockey and the maple leaf. Winter, in particular, defines Canada in the global consciousness and occupies our thoughts daily when we often begin the day wondering how much we'll have to bundle up and hoping the car will start or the bus won't be late, and end the day hoping that the next day will be warmer.

It may be said in Canada that weather is a powerful part of our community. Like our often-fractious politics, we curse and praise the weather with equal vehemence. Each winter seems to bring something noteworthy-extreme cold, record snowfall and unusually mild temperatures that make us happy for the reprieve but wary of what is sure to come. Weather, especially in winter, begins conversations and impels us to reach out for reassurance that far-away friends and family are safe, to commiserate with neighbours and to gloat at how much worse our situation is than people in warmer/drier/more moderate locales. Richard Adams, in Watership Down, said, "Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it." Our Canadian hardiness is "proof against" our often-harsh winters.

Winter weather, put mildly, is inconvenient, but extreme weather is hardly unusual in Canada. Annual freezing rain averages range from the Prairies' 20-35 hours to 50-70 hours in the Ottawa Valley and southern Quebec. Even Victoria averages a few hours of freezing rain per year but the champ is St. John's, Newfoundland with 150 hours. The 20th century's worst ice storm hit Ontario and Quebec January 4-10, 1998, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage.

Though we may get our long johns in a bunch that others see Canada only as a land of cold and snow, we must concede our frosty reputation. North America's coldest recorded temperature, in 1947 in Snag, Yukon, was a bone-chilling -63° C. It was so cold that an exhaled breath made a hissing sound as it froze. Canada has the world's lowest average daily temperature, -5.6° C. Despite Canada's nippy statistics, we do not hold world records for all cold extremes. Ottawa is only the world's second-coldest national capital, after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Winter brings snow, as any Canadian knows, and often lots of it. The worst blizzard in Canadian railway history occurred between January 30 and February 8, 1947, when 10 days of blowing snow buried towns and trains from Calgary to Winnipeg. Some Saskatchewan roads and rail lines remained impassable until spring. Children stepped over power lines on their way to school and people dug tunnels to their outhouses.

But winter doesn't give us our only weather extremes. Canada's longest, deadliest heat wave, July 5-17, 1936, saw temperatures top 44° C in Manitoba and Ontario. The intense heat killed 1180 people, twisted steel rail lines and bridge girders, buckled sidewalks, wilted crops and baked fruit on trees. The hottest day on record was at Midale and Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937 when the temperature reached a scorching 45° C.

Extreme temperatures aren't all. Canada's deadliest tornado struck Regina on June 30, 1912, killing 40 people, injuring 300 and destroying 500 buildings. It lasted only three minutes but it took 46 years to pay for the damage. On May 4, 1971 heavy rains in St-Jean-Vianney, Que. opened a sinkhole 600m wide and 30m deep. The crater and mudslide killed 31 people and swallowed 35 homes, a bus and several cars.

Many of our significant weather events have happened in February, whose weather superlatives include a deadly snowstorm in St. John's in 1959; a 1961 ice storm that left parts of Montreal without power for a week; a 1979 blizzard that isolated Iqaluit, Nunavut for 10 days; a 1982 blizzard that marooned PEI for a week; the Ocean Ranger disaster on February 15, 1982; the warmest Winter Olympics - 1988, in Calgary - when 18.1° C on February 26 was just a tad below Miami's 19.4° C; and the greatest single-day snowfall of 145cm at Tahtsa Lake, BC on February 11, 1999. These February records explain why the shortest month in the calendar often feels like the longest.

Our weather extremes fascinate and challenge us as we brave the annual freak snowstorm, bake in the heat or endure seemingly endless hours of rain, our identity closely aligned with the natural forces around us.

Safe bet Alberta will be impacted by B.C. wildfire smoke in future: scientist
By Slav Kornik    Web Producer  Global News   

News: Edmonton Weather Forecast: Saturday, Aug. 18x

An environmental health scientist says the smoke Alberta has been experiencing from the forest fires raging in British Columbia could become the norm every wildfire season.

Sarah Henderson, a senior environmental scientist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, says while no one can predict the future, it’s a safe bet to expect this type of wildfire season will continue to occur in B.C.

She says there have been six “very bad wildfire seasons” in the last 10 years.

Some Edmonton-area athletes have their training impacted by wildfire smoke
Breathing easy: How to avoid the long-term health consequences of B.C. wildfire smoke

“The safest thing is to expect this is just going to keep happening,” Henderson said, meaning it’s safe to assume smoky skies in Alberta will keep happening.

Many Alberta communities, including Edmonton, have experienced an air quality health index of 10+, or very high risk, this week.

Robert Rohde, a lead scientist with Berkeley Earth tweeted on Friday that Alberta’s capital had the worst air quality in the world over a 24-hour period among cities with a population of at least 250,000.

Rohde noted that air quality in Prince George, B.C., was worse during that period, but the city’s population is under 250,000 so it was not included in the study.

READ MORE: Wildfire smoke is so thick in Prince George, it looks like night after the sun has risen

While it’s recommended that people avoid exposure to smoke by staying indoors as much possible, Henderson says further precautions should be taken.

“The biggest thing you can do is try to find a way to clear the air inside your home when it’s smoky outside,” Henderson said. “Purchasing one or two good portable air cleaners can make a huge difference in keeping your home comfortable when the outdoor conditions are smoky.”

Henderson says that while the B.C. Centre for Disease Control isn’t conducting a study on the impact of the B.C. wildfires on Albertans, there is research being performed regarding the impact of B.C.’s 2017 wildfire season on pregnant women and infants.

The scientist says some risks of smoke are already known.

“In very smoky conditions, infants have incredibly sensitive lungs and that smoke might actually affect them for the rest of their lives, depending on the exposure,” she said.

“Women who are pregnant during smoky conditions, we don’t really know what the effects of that are, but we do know babies who were born from moms who were exposed to smoke are a little bit smaller than babies who are born from moms not exposed to smoke.”

 Severe Weather Alerts - Toronto, Ontario
    Special Weather Statement
    Special Weather Statement in effect until 12:09 PM EDT. Source: Environment Canada
Potential for heavy rainfall today.
A few rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected today across portions of southern Ontario. The rain is developing over southwestern Ontario early this morning and will advance eastward to reach the Golden Horseshoe after daybreak.
The rain is expected to be periodic in nature with significant breaks from time to time. However, as the air mass will be very moist, torrential downpours giving significant rainfall amounts in relatively short periods of time are likely.
At this point, it appears that many areas will receive between 20 to 40 mm of rain by this evening. However, areas that get several thunderstorms may receive significantly higher amounts.
Warnings may be required for some areas.
 

Ontario feels 'coolest' temps since JUNE, here's what's next
8/22: Brief taste of fall in Ontario before another blast of heat

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Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 8:44 PM -    Wednesday brought some of the coolest temperatures to southern Ontario since June, but temperatures are expected to rise once again. More on how the rest of the month shapes up, below (spoiler: It's muggy).
WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS:

    Some of the coolest daytime temperatures since the end of June on Wednesday before a late week warm-up
    Temperatures start to rise again Thursday and get back into 40 humidex values by the end of the weekend

The City of Toronto hit a daytime high of 21.2oC Wednesday due to a brisk northwest wind. The last time the city saw these temperature values was back on June 24 when a daytime high of 21.3°C was recorded.

Meanwhile, parts of Cottage Country struggled to reach the 20s, with Bracebridge hitting 19.6oC.
BUT WAIT! YOU STILL NEED YOUR SUMMER GEAR

"Our taste of early fall will not last very long as temperatures will quickly recover back to seasonal for Thursday and Friday with abundant sunshine and comfortable humidity," Gillham says.

A rain and thunderstorm threat pushes back into the region on Saturday, but much of the day will be rain-free. By Sunday, temperatures will once again reach the 30°C mark, feeling even hotter with the humidity. This warming pattern continues into the final week of August with humidex values in the upper 30s to near 40 through at least Wednesday.

LABOUR DAY COULD LOCK IN THE 3/3 TREND

"It is too early to talk about the details of the Labour Day weekend, but at this point it looks like muggy weather will dominate the unofficial final weekend of summer," Gillham says, adding that this would make it three for three with muggy, hot long weekends this summer (think Canada Day and the Civic holiday).

"And warmer than normal temperatures are expected to persist for back to school week as well."

Yesterday's August 24 hot and cold spots ...

Hot spot in Yukon: 20.2 °C  68.4 °F Haines Junction

Cold spot in Yukon: -3.7 °C  25.3 °F Margaret Lake

Hot spot in Canada: 32.9 °C  91.2 °F Yellow Grass North, SK

Cold spot in Canada: -3.7 °C  25.3 °F Margaret Lake, YT

Ottawa looking into climate change impact for East Coast ferry ports, airport, bridge
By Staff The Canadian Press   

The federal government wants to know how the sites, including the Confederation Bridge, may be at risk of "failure, damage and loss of service," due to the climate events that could hit the region.

The federal government wants to know how the sites, including the Confederation Bridge, may be at risk of "failure, damage and loss of service," due to the climate events that could hit the region.

Ottawa has posted a tender asking engineering firms to assess how climate change and extreme weather will affect some of Atlantic Canada’s major ferry terminals, airports and the Confederation Bridge.

The tender posted last week seeks analysis on the vulnerability of the infrastructure to rising sea levels, harsher storms and changing waves.

It says the federal government wants to know how the sites may be at risk of “failure, damage and loss of service,” due to the climate events that could hit the region.

The report will look at six ferry terminals, including the facilities at Digby, N.S. and Saint John, N.B., and the Prince Edward Island terminals in Caribou, Wood Islands and Souris, along with the Cap-Aux-Meules terminal on the Magdalene Islands. It will also examine the impact of climate change on the airports at Wabush and St. Anthony’s in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The federal advisory panel on climate change adaptation recently noted that average temperatures in Canada have increased by 1.5 C between 1950 and 2010, with higher rises in the north.

Average precipitation has also been rising, and both heavy precipitation and extreme precipitation events are projected to become more frequent.

Yesterday's August 28 hot and cold spots ...

Hot spot in Manitoba: 20.0 °C  68.0 °F Victoria Beach

Cold spot in Manitoba: -1.2 °C  29.8 °F Kelsey Dam

Hot spot in Canada: 33.0 °C  91.4 °F Vineland Station, ON

Cold spot in Canada: -4.7 °C  23.5 °F Gateshead Island, NU

Trust the weather was fine while there Graeme and you were able to visit your aviation restoration project. 
Nanaimo, BC is as close as we've been ourselves.  I don't think weather there is usually very severe.

Yesterday's August 29 hot and cold spots ...

Hot spot in British Columbia: 27.3 °C  81.1 °F Creston

Cold spot in British Columbia: 1.9 °C  35.4 °F Burns Lake Airport

Hot spot in Canada: 33.3 °C  91.9 °F Sainte-Clotilde, QC

Cold spot in Canada: -3.9 °C  25.0 °F Resolute Airport, NU; Resolute, NU


Enjoy,
Paul

Return to intense summer heat and humidity in Toronto and Southern Ontario

The heat and humidity return this weekend with the humidex making it feel like the low 40s. Thunderstorms are also in the forecast for Sunday and Labour Day Monday